Some respect in order for union gains

Americans will never, and should never, earn $1.61 a month or work 15-18 hours a day, seven days a week. That is what it would take to compete with the wages and hours at manufacturers in China.

I think there are a lot of Americans who would be more than happy to pay union dues if it got them a job. And to pay more dues if it meant that the job they got came with some basic protections like livable wages, reasonable hours, paid leave for when you are sick or disabled, the ability not to be fired for absolutely no cause, and so many other quality workplace protections that union members have enjoyed over the years.

I see now that Reagan-appointed Justice Scalia now believes there is no constitutional basis for sex discrimination, but unions favor anti-discrimination laws of all kinds - yes, unions.

I suggest that the writer of the letter praising right-to-work laws and bashing unions consider his own level of wage and benefits earned or accrued basically through the work of unions, even though he may have never had a union at his workplace. Although he no doubt never had to march through a bunch of goons with clubs to get to his workplace. Unions put a stop to that.

Remember where the 40-hour week came from, health benefits, child labor laws, paid vacations and myriad other benefits taken for granted that were obtained through the hard work of the unions.

When I hear of complaints that infer unions have too much power, I suggest they review this last election - local and state - and see where all the money comes from: The Koch Brothers, Freedom Foundation, Sheldon Adelson, Rupert Murdoch, Winning Our Future, ALEC, Congressional Leadership Fund and YG Action Fund, all of which supported Republican candidates for Congress. Not a union among these names. Not one supporter of workers' rights.

Statistics have shown states that have right-to-work laws have the lowest range of wage-earners.

OK you win, let's all send our kids to China, with no unions, and allow them to slave under the wages paid there. The problem is that once all the kids are there, who is here to buy the products they make?, The "two-percenters?"

Bruno Ripp

WARREN

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Some respect in order for union gains

Americans will never, and should never, earn $1.61 a month or work 15-18 hours a day, seven days a week. That is what it would take to compete with the wages and hours at manufacturers in China.

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